Introduction:

A voltage stabilizer is at device which is used to maintain a constant voltage level, with
protections of equipment against voltage surges, over voltage, under voltage, smoothing
impulsive noise. The circuit of a voltage stabilizer basically consists of a voltage sensor. It is
configured to detect the rise or fall of the AC main voltages to dangerous levels. The input is
connected to primary windings and the output is received from the secondary windings. As soon
it senses a risky input voltage, it immediately energizes the RELAYS connected to it. These
RELAYS in tum swap and switch the appropriate winding terminals of an auto transfonner to
correct and stabilize the output voltage. When there is a drop in incoming voltage it activates
electromagnetic RELAYS which add to more number of turns in the secondary windings, thus
giving higher voltage which compensates for loss in output voltage. When there is a rise in the
incoming voltage, the reverse happens, and thus, the voltage at the output side remains almost
unchanged.

Apparatus:
i) 3 RELAYS
ii) 2 Presets
iii) Resistances
iv) Bread board
v) Center tapped transformer
vi) Auto transformer with three different input terminal and 1 output terminal
vii) LM324
viii) Capacitor (470 uF)
ix) Transistors

Fig: Circuit Diagram of a voltage Stabilizer

Operation Principle:
Autotransformer does the task of convening input voltage (line voltage) into our desired voltage
level required to operate our target device. The autotransformer we used has three input
terminals and one output terminal (240 Volt) with a common terminal (ground/reference) for all
the four terminals. Line voltage is connected to one of the input terminals and is controlled by
the two RELAYS. The line voltage is given to a center tapped transformer which is connected to
two diodes which rectify the input and we get rectified output which is termed as sensing
voltage. RELAYS are controlled by a comparator. The first RELAY(RELAYl) is at NC
(normally connected) state when line voltage is more than 217 volt(from our calculation).When
line voltage is below or equal to 216 volt, the RELAYI is on andat NO (normally open) state.

Comparators reference voltage is given at positive pin of the comparator and set by a Zener
diode and the line voltage is given at negative pin by a pre-set. Pre-set is adjusted such a way that
when line voltage is below or equal to 2l6 volt, the voltage at negative pin is below the reference
input. Thus when line voltage is above 216 volt the REDAY is off and the input voltage is
connected to the 1st terminal of the transformer. When line voltage drops below 217 volt, the
output of the comparator becomes high and this voltage turn off the transistor making the output
voltage of transistor low (0). So, the current flows through the sensing coil and turn on the
RELAYL The NO port of the RELAY] is connected to the 2nd RELAY and RELAY2 is off until
line voltage is below 180 volt. There is a comparator and the same circuit which control the
RELAYs on-off mechanism. Only difference is, in case of RELAY2, the pre-set is adjusted such
a way that when line voltage drops below 180 volt the comparator output becomes high and turns
on the RELAY2. So, when the line voltage is below above 179 volt but below 217 volt, it is
connected to the NC port of the RELAY2 which is connected to the 2nd terminal of the
autotransformer when the line voltage is below 180 volt, both RELAYS become on and it is
connected to the NO port of the RELAY2 which is connected to the 3rd terminal of the
autotransformer. The output is also connected to a RELAY which we marked as RELAY3. It has
a control circuitry unlike the first 2s. But it has two comparators which has same reference input.
For the 3rd comparator the reference voltage is given at negative port and pre-set is adjusted such
a way that when line voltage goes up above 260 volt the comparator output will be high and the
RELAY is on. For the 4th comparator the inputs are same as the first 2 comparator but pre-set is
adjusted that when line voltage is below 149 volt _the comparator output is high. In both case
(voltage >260 or voltage<l49) it turns on a transistor connected to each comparator. Either cases
the current passes through sensing coil and turn on the RELAY3. When RELAY3 is off; it is
comiected to the load. When it is on the line is just disconnected. So when line voltage is in
between 149 volt and 260 volt, the line voltage is connected to the load after converting the
voltage into our desire level (200-240) volt by the autotransformer otherwise it is just dropped.
We can see a feedback circuitry in each comparator. When the output is high in any comparator,
it gives a feedback and the voltage drop across R1 is added to the corresponding port increasing

the reference voltage (except 3rd comparator where feedback is added with the input),thus
providing hysteresis and protecting the RELAYS from fast on-off in case of sudden up-down of
line voltage.

Calculation: We are designing voltage stabilizer to operate between 260 volt and 149 volt (line voltage).The
input range is 240 Volt to 200 Volt. So, our first terminal will convert line voltage 260 Volt to
240 Volt.
The lower voltage that will be converted by this terminal = 260/240200=2l7(approximately).
So, 1st terminal of the auto transformer will operate between 260 and 217 volt.
Thus the second terminal will operate between 216 and 216/240200=l80 volt and the third
terminal will operate between 179 and l79/240200=l49 volt
We need 4 comparators which reference voltage is set by a Zener diode at 3.4 volt (conventional)
The collector resistance Rc=2kQ and base resistance Rc=l kQ
The preset will be set such a way that comparator output changes at 2l7v, l79v and 260v and
149V respectively for the lst, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Hysteresis is provided by feedback resistances. DC Feedback gain = (Rl/R2) Voc volt
=(l.8/l80)l2 volt = 0.0112=0.12 volt
Table: ON and OFF Voltage of different RELAYS and corresponding hysteresis

RELAY

ON(Volt)

OFF(volt)

RELAYI

217

220

RELAY2

180

185

RELAY3

149/260

154/265

Precaution:

Hysteresis(Volt)

1. A center tapped was used for electrical isolation and two rectifier diodes was used to rectify
the line voltage and used as one Input of the comparator.
2. Feedback was given at the non-inverting port of the comparator to provide hysteresis.
3. Only one Zener diode was used as the reference voltage for all the comparator.
4. RELAY was adjusted carefully to change the port at the desired level.
5. Last two comparators was used to disconnect the load when line voltage is above 260 or below
149 to protect the load.
6. Presets were set carefully to .change the comparator output at our desire voltage level.
7. Autotransformer we used has three different terminals to convert different voltage level in
200-240 range.
8. Resistance for base and collector of the transistors was selected conventionally at 1k and
2k.
9. A capacitor was used right after the center tapped transformer.
10. Capacitor was connected carefully to the ground and positive terminal of the output of center
tapped transformer
11. Here transistors are used as switch.

Discussion:

Voltage stabilizers are used to protect our electronic devices by providing a voltage, ranging it
between a fixed level (which is 200-240V, in our experiment) and save those devices from the
voltage which is beyond the limit and also disconnect the devices when the supply voltage
dropped to a threshold limit. Autotransformer is made with one winding which in tums giving
the advantages of lower weight and Cost, but it doesnt provide electrical isolation. ln the
operation of the circuit, when we tend to tum on the relay to a certain voltage, it will tum on. But
when we tend to tum off the relay again, we dont usually tum on the relay at that exact voltage

This phenomenon is called hysteresis and its protecting the relay tiom fast switching. It defers a
few, which is around 5 volts.